1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording or reading apparatus. The present invention is suitable for the arrangement of an image recording apparatus for recording an image on, e.g., a sheet film, or an image reading apparatus for reading an image on a sheet film.
2. Related Background Art
As a conventional image recording apparatus for recording an image on a sheet film or an image reading apparatus for reading an image on a sheet film, various apparatuses are known. FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing the prior art of an image recording apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,713. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a supply magazine 103 stores a large number of stacked unused sheet films, and its lid 103a can be opened inside the apparatus. A suction disk 105 enters the supply magazine 103 from the opening portion, and picks up, by suction, the stacked films one by one. The sucking disk 105 can insert the picked-up film to a position between a feed roller 107 and a planetary roller 108 located at a position b. The rollers 107 and 108 which clamp the film therebetween are integrally rotated clockwise to have the rotation shaft of the roller 107 as the center, and when the roller 108 reaches a position a, the planetary rotation of the roller 108 is stopped. The shaft of the roller 108 is fixed at this position, and the roller 107 is further rotated clockwise, thereby feeding the film in an obliquely upward direction along a guide plate 121. When the leading end of the film is clamped between a feed roller 112 and a planetary roller 113, which have been rotating in advance, the lower planetary roller 108 is retracted to a position c to release the film. The rollers 112 and 113 are integrally rotated clockwise to have the rotation shaft of the roller 112 as the center, and when the roller 113 reaches a position e, the planetary rotation of the roller 113 is stopped. The shaft of the roller 113 is fixed at this position, and the roller 112 is further rotated clockwise, thereby feeding the film until the trailing end of the film comes out from the supply magazine 103. Thereafter, the roller 112 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the film to a position where the leading end of the film does not shield a light beam L.
If a recording operation is performed without executing the reverse feeding operation while the film is present in the supply magazine, the film initially has a shape indicated by m in FIG. 2. However, when the trailing end of the film leaves a roller 118, it immediately leaps to a position indicated by n. When the recording operation is performed in this state, scanning pitch nonuniformity is generated, thus deteriorating image quality. For this reason, the above-mentioned reverse feeding operation is performed.
Thereafter, the feed roller 112 is rotated clockwise again. When the leading end of the film is clamped between a pair of sub-scanning rollers 102, the rotation of the roller 112 is stopped, and the planetary roller is retracted to a position f. A roller 138 whose shaft position is fixed is used for regulating the position of the film. Thereafter, the film is fed to the right in FIG. 1 by the sub-scanning rollers 102, and the recording operation is performed by deflecting and radiating the light beam L radiated from an optical unit 101 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the feed direction. After the recording operation, the rollers 102 are rotated in the reverse direction until the film end is clamped between the rollers 113 and 112 at the position e. Then, the rollers 113 and 112 are integrally rotated counterclockwise, and when the roller 113 reaches a position g, the planetary rotation of the roller 113 is stopped. The roller 112 is further rotated counterclockwise, and is stopped after the film is fed into a receive magazine 104. When a lid 104a is closed inside the apparatus, the interior of the receive magazine is kept shielded from light. Thus, the receive magazine including the films can be unloaded from the apparatus, and can be conveyed to a developing machine.
FIG. 3 shows the prior art of a radiation image information reading apparatus described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 63-175570. Referring to FIG. 3, a sheet supply magazine 152 stores a plurality of stacked phosphorescent sheets 151 on each of which radiation image information is recorded. A sheet pickup means 153 such as a suction disk picks up the sheets one by one, and transfers the picked-up sheet to sub-scanning rollers 154 and 155. A roller 157 is rotated by a motor (not shown), and can transmit its driving force to the roller 155 via a belt or chain 158. The roller 154 and a roller 156 can respectively bias or be retracted from the rollers 155 and 157 by rotary solenoids (not shown). In addition, a guide plate 159 is arranged. The sheet 151 is scanned with excitation light 162 deflected and radiated by a main scanning means 161 while it is fed to the left in FIG. 3 by the rollers 154, 155, 156, and 157. Stimulated emission is generated from a portion irradiated with the excitation light, and is detected by a photodetection means 160. The fed sheet is stored in a sheet storage magazine 163.
FIG. 4 shows the prior art of an original reading apparatus described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-60624. Referring to FIG. 4, non-processed originals 181 are stacked on a hopper 182 which is slightly inclined from the vertical direction. A negative pressure chamber 183 presses the lowermost one of the originals 181 against a paper feed roller 184. When the paper feed roller 184 and an auxiliary paper feed roller 185 are rotated clockwise in FIG. 4, an original 181 is fed to a send roller 186 and a separation roller 187. The original 181 which has passed between these rollers is conveyed between original guide plates 193 and 194 by a constant-speed feed roller 188, a counter roller 189, a back roller 190, an exhaust roller 191, and a pinch roller 192, and is exhausted and stacked onto a stacker 195. An illumination device 196 illuminates an original via an exposure opening portion 199. Light reflected by the original is received by a reading element 198 via an imaging lens 197.
The prior art shown in FIG. 1 has the above-mentioned effect. However, after the entire sheet film is completely fed from the supply magazine and is fed in the reverse direction, scanning is performed, and the sheet film is reversed again to be returned to the receive magazine upon completion of an operation. For this reason, a space for repetitively returning the sheet film is required. Also, the operation time is prolonged, and it is disadvantageous to improve the throughput.
In the prior art shown in FIG. 3, since an almost linear feed path is adopted, the floor area corresponding to at least two magazines is required, and the apparatus becomes larger than the prior art shown in FIG. 1.
In the prior art shown in FIG. 4, in order to pick up the lowermost sheet from the supply magazine, gravity is utilized. For this reason, the hopper must be inclined, and the size of the apparatus increases accordingly. Since the lowermost sheet is picked up from the supply magazine, the frictional resistance upon picking up of the sheet is large, and causes recording/reading pitch nonuniformity.